Battle City Moment
by RavenSara84
Summary: The thief had his eyes for Malik, not that the teen was aware of it, nor was he aware that there was another spirit residing in the Ring. Though the theif was loathed to have his way when he was in Ryou's body, although they had a special link that he got the 'ok' from.


It _appeared_ that the duellist Ryou Bakura was making his way to the room that he had been given on the Battle City blimp; though it was to the _great relief_ of the other souls that resided inside him that _no one_ wished to share a room with him.

Currently Ryou _wasn't_ in control, though it looked it, but the evil entity, his friends called it evil Bakura, the other souls in the body however called it the Dark God.

Currently the Dark God was pleased with how the plan was going, they were close to getting the Millennium Items, a bonus that Malik and his _sibling_ was also here and both had their Items with them, making him think, with the soul of the thief here, that they would easily gain them without too much trouble. What the Dark God wasn't aware of, or perhaps overlooked most of the time, was that the soul of the thief king would sometimes be able to override him and influence the body to do other things, hence how he managed to join up with Malik, it wasn't really the Dark God's interest at the time, they _could_ have found the necklace and _forced_ Malik to give over the rod, but instead here they were.

The thief wasn't exactly sure _how_ he managed to overcome the Dark God, but since he wasn't given any trouble for it, he currently didn't care that much. Besides so long as the Dark God got the results _they_ wanted, they wouldn't care regardless of the infatuation the thief appeared to have towards Malik Ishtar.

It was lucky enough for the thief that it _wasn't_ obvious to the Dark God of his infatuation towards the teen, the thief _liked_ Malik, finding the young Egyptian teen reminded him a little bit of himself when he had been alive so long ago.

Although it _was_ a surprise when Malik visited his room later on in the evening, while he himself had pondered over being placed in such a strange situation. Who would have thought that a centuries old _thief_ would team up with a young teenager, enter a competition to get revenge on the one man who wronged both of them?

He didn't mind the unexpected visit, after all he had someone on his side, who felt that the Pharaoh needed to be _punished_ for his deed, to all that had happened to them due to _him_. The only problem that the thief had with Malik, was that he didn't seem to able to _sense_ the other spirit that resided within the Ring, and he wasn't talking about his Landlord. It was a clear sign that Malik was _not_ the one who should be in possession of the rod.

Just looking at Malik made the thief realise that had he met someone like him in the past, perhaps things would have turned out a little different. He scoffed at himself mentally, the mere _thought_ that things _might_ have been different if someone like this teen had been around, when he knew full well that the ball had been set into motion when he had watched the _slaughter_ of his village as a child was just laughable.

If had been lucky for Malik that the Dark God had relinquished control over Ryou as soon as the mortal body entered this room, after all they had no reason to remain in control of the mortal now, but instead Ryou taking control the thief had slipped in and took his place, he _felt_ like it wouldn't be fair for the boy to deal with the pain in his arm, after all during this whole ordeal he hadn't been let out of his soul room, however the thief was a bit more generous than the Dark God, he normally let Ryou have a bit of say in what he was doing.

So the pair of them simply sat in this rather bland room, relaxing, in as much as they could, of course given that they were so close to killing the Pharaoh, they weren't really in that kind of state of mind, one of them was thinking how different the world would soon be when the Pharaoh was actually _dead._

The thief sighed and looked over at Malik; "You know, I am getting rather _tired_ of _pretending_ that I'm not evil. _You_ must be too," He embraced that fact, although he was completely aware that it was the Dark God who was the complete and utter embodiment of evil, he had done many terrible things in the past to get that label on him as well, though Malik was unaware of that face. The thief also hoped that Malik wasn't too observant to realise that when the Dark God was in control, they didn't like to make small talk, they weren't one for idle chatter, they wanted _results_.

The blonde just snorted and gave him a sharp look; "I'm _not evil_ , I am simply getting even with the one who _destroyed my life_ ,"

The thief understood that all too easily, it was the reason how he was now in _this_ situation, how he was _still_ in it even though his actions happened long ago. However he was well aware that he was regarded as being _evil_ , he was seen as the _villain_ and while he could understand why Malik didn't see himself in that light, surely the boy wasn't so dim that he was completely unaware of the reaction he was getting from those he battled, and _none_ of them regarded him as a good guy?

 _That_ was the biggest difference between himself and Malik, it was clear that while he had simply decided to just take up the mantel of being _evil_ and wear like a cloak, Malik tried to shun it, push it away from him, even though everything he had done to get to this point in time showed that it wasn't the case, the teen was _evil_ and he really should have just taken the title for himself. Of course it was easier for the thief, in the past he had the Dark God join him, eventually having the darkness _fuse_ onto his own soul, so that the thief could _feel_ the thoughts coming from the darkness, making him want to destroy _everything_ , although he had managed to refrain, _almost_. There had bee moments back in Ancient Egypt when he wished he could have kept the Dark God away, to have them stop invading his thoughts so strongly, for them to easily take over his body - like they now did with Ryou - and causing the death of many people who he never wanted to kill. His ill will was to the Pharaoh and those _Priests_ who wielded the Items.

At Malik's reply the thief simply smirked at him from across the table; " _Oh?_ Have you not _heard_ what the other duelists are calling you? Or are you _choosing_ to ignore them?" He ignored how those clear lavender eyes glared at him more harshly than before, but that did little to stop the _mirth_ the thief was currently feeling in regards to this situation.

"I don't care what those _fools_ call me, I am doing what is _right_. Once the Pharaoh is dead and gone, what they call _us_ won't even matter any more," Malik claimed, causing the thief to grin wider than he had before.

" _Us?_ Surely you mean _you_ ," He corrected him teasingly, spotting the blonde blushing and he felt rather pleased at the result that his comment made on the teen.

Malik brushed his hair out of his face, trying to ignore the blush that covered his cheeks; "Tch, I _was_ considering having you join me, together we'd easily be a force to be reckoned with,"

At that statement the thief just looked at him in question, after all Malik had _claimed_ he just wanted the Pharaoh to die and be punished for the trauma that happened to him when he was younger. Now the thief was completely aware that _that_ was a lie, there was no _truth_ to his words and he didn't even need to use the power of the Ring to know that.

"Hm? Us working together?" He tilted his head to the side as he looked over at him; "Yet here I was, simply thinking that you were just using me to remove certain _obstacles_ in your wake, so that you could get close to the Pharaoh yourself to kill him,"

"You've proven that you can deal with tough situations, you think fast, and I haven't seen anyone do that in _my_ time," Malik commented, but the thief noticed that the blush _never_ went away.

He grinned, now more sure than before that he wasn't going to let Malik off the hook so easily _now_ ; "Really? So why don't you _prove it_?"

He wanted Malik to make a move, he knew what _he_ wanted, but he had to be sure that the teen understood that his own intentions were _clear_ , even if he didn't say them out loud or spell them out, so he moved from where he was sitting and sat next to him, getting a little bit too close to him, completely aware that most people wouldn't take too kindly to their personal space being invaded by anyone, with the exception of a close friend or…

Malik _didn't_ push him away, instead _he_ moved _closer_ , though the thief remained where he was, allowing Malik to take the lead; though he was certain the blonde wasn't aware of it; except he was moving _painfully_ slow in the thief's mind.

Then, _finally_ he felt those lips tentatively press against his own.

The thief reacted slowly, not wishing to overwhelm Malik, who had now begun to gain a bit more confidence in the kiss, deepening it and pressing a little bit firmer against him.

 _This_ was what he wanted, ever since he met the boy back on solid ground, ever since he was able to influence the Dark God to aid Malik in his little quest against the Pharaoh. He finally felt _alive_ , though he technically wasn't, but a small part of him felt a riding of guilt come over him, he was doing this in _Ryou's_ body, and he was, technically, _stealing_ the boy's first kiss. Although he felt the reassurance that came down through their link, Ryou was letting him know that he was _fine_ with this, though the thief was completely aware they would need to talk later.

Right now he began to feel impatient, although Malik was taking the lead, he was going _too slow_ for his liking, and so he pulled the teen onto his lap to kiss him some more, nipping at his neck, nibbling on his ear. When Malik finally left the room, he left in an air that was full of tension and awkwardness, though the thief didn't feel _any_ of those things towards _him_.

Once he was gone, the thief made his way to the bed and lay down, before he left the control to Ryou, retreating to his soul room, which had become something like a sanctuary for the pair of them, since the Dark God was _unable_ to enter their due to Ryou not having a _dark_ enough soul for him to enter without being in a lot of pain, which caused the thief to yank the Dark God out, because the screams echoed around and he was certain Ryou wanted the Dark God _away_ from him.

Retreating to Ryou's soul room meant that the thief got some kind of _breathing space_ , he was no longer _completely_ overwhelmed now that he shared a body with Ryou, although he knew it wasn't fair on the boy; of course that wasn't the _only_ reason, but it was a large part of it, the other part was that he _liked_ visiting Ryou and when he entered the other's soul room he began to look more like _himself_. No longer did he look like a darker, possibly sinister version of Ryou, he looked _Egyptian_ , he looked like he did so long ago, with his messy grey hair, violet eyes, his biege kilt, red cloak and beige slippers, as well as the jewellery that he had stolen from a few tombs in his time.

Currently Ryou was lying on his bed, reading a book when he entered, and the teen looked up at him with a smile; "You _really_ like this Malik person," He closed the book and pulled his legs up as the thief sat down on the edge of his bed, relishing in the softness, it was one of the few things he enjoyed about the modern world.

"Yes," He nodded, although he still felt guilt for using Ryou's body like that, he wasn't _ashamed_ of his attraction to the Egyptian teen, but he didn't have any _right_ to pursue a dalliance with Malik.

Ryou moved to sit next to him, looking at him with the smile still on his face; "I'm glad… he seems… _nice_ enough?"

The thief glanced at him, feeling his own lips curve up in a smirk, knowing full well that Ryou was keeping something from him, and doing a poor job at hiding it; "You mean the fact that he _wishes_ to kill the Pharaoh, _like me_ , though he doesn't appear to care that much about those he hurts in the process. You must have heard our conversation Landlord, _nice_ is probably not the best word to describe him,"

Ryou blushed and looked down for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts without pushing the thief away from him, it took him so long to get used to this Ancient Spirit, he didn't want to have him lock himself out of his own body too, like the Dark God; "Well, _yes_. Though that conversation with him not seeing himself as being _evil_?" He looked at the thief his eyes wide in question; "But why do _you_?"

He just starred at him, confused as to the reason why Ryou needed him to put it all out there, surely he was completely aware as to _why_ he was evil, and _why_ he accepted it; "How could I _not be_? I might try to not harm other's… _too badly_ at least, but in the end I am part of the reason why the Dark God is by _my side_. And I _know_ that I have done far more evil and devious things than I ever did in the past, of course that would also be due to the Dark God not having the same type of _strength_ as he does now,"

That bit of information was rather startling, but Ryou just put it away to think over later, he simply nodded at what the thief had told him; "I see," Once he said that the thief was aware that Ryou _didn't_ understand is at all; "But with Malik not caring about anyone that he hurts… that is a bit of a downside isn't it?"

The thief hummed; "There isn't too much we can do about that… though I doubt the Dark God will be too _thrilled_ should Malik actually kill the Pharaoh himself," He commented, not seeing the concerned look Ryou gave him, although the thief was completely aware that the Darkness _knew_ what Malik's goal was, the Darkness felt sure that the teen would fail, after all Malik was a mere _mortal_. Yet the thief felt like that blonde could actually pull it off, he had a lot of determination and he had proved himself to have the Pharaoh on edge a few times from what he had heard from Yugi's band of cheerleaders.

"But… if Malik _does_ manage it?" Ryou's focus wasn't on the Pharaoh, although he did like the Ancient Spirit, his main focus was his other friend, his _living_ friend, Yugi. Though he was also worried about the little piece of information the thief gave him, that the Darkness was _stronger_ than ever before, which would explain why when he tried to fight for control, _nothing_ happened.

The thief gave him a lazy smile; "Don't worry, he won't," Although the thief felt like Malik _could_ , he also knew that Malik would celebrate his victory early, rather than wait until the deed was _actually_ done. He would underestimate the Pharaoh in the end, and like _everyone else_ he would fall, because the Pharaoh would have luck on his side.

"You _can't_ know that,"

"Trust me, Malik is not as _committed_ as he appears to be,"

Now Ryou just starred at him because from what he had been able to see and _heard_ , Malik appeared to be _very_ committed to his cause; "What do you mean?" After all they had _just_ spoken about how Malik appeared to be more than happy to use _anyone_ to reach his goal, to the extent that he was happy for people to _die_ for it, and Ryou was certain Malik wouldn't take the blame for it, because it was all the _Pharaoh's_ fault.

"Landlord, _think_ ," The thief sighed and the teen looked at him; "Malik's own _sister_ is going to go up against him. There will soon be a time when he will most likely have to actually _battle_ her to get furhter up in this tournament. Do you really think he will actually be able to go up against his own _blood_? Using the tactic's that he has done so far?" He laid back on the bed and looked up at the fake night sky that Ryou had created; "I never did bother to ask _why_ he is so determined to kill the Pharaoh, although it doesn't matter, whatever the reason it is in the past, he's spent sometime waiting for this moment to come up,"

It was in this moment that Ryou realised just how close to reality Malik's goal was, and how close it was to the thief's _own goal_ , this was terrifying for him. Although the thief had told him that he and Malik's goals were similar, Ryou never realised that this goal could very well be _met_ on this blimp.

After a few moments, with the thief's eyes closed, he spoke; "Something wrong?"

Although Ryou was aware of how vicious this man was, he couldn't help but smile at how… _harmless_ he appeared in this moment in time; "You… you wouldn't _kill_ Yugi, would you?" He was fully aware that Malik would, because if it meant the end result was the death of the Pharaoh, he would kill anyone who was in his way, and Yugi _would_ be in his way, however the _thief_ was another matter.

He opened his eyes and sighed once more before sitting up to look at him directly; "Ryou, I don't _know_ ," He confessed and saw the distress that he had caused with those words, but he couldn't _lie_ to him; " _Hopefully_ I won't need to, if the end result happens the way _I_ wish it to then it _will_ just be the Pharaoh. However I can't say for certain," He left out that the Dark God would be more than happy to kill Yugi in the process, but the Darkness would be _thrilled_ to kill everyone.

"Yugi is innocent…" Ryou began to protest, wanting the thief to at least _try_ to help his friend, should the worst come down to it.

The thief nodded; "I _know_ , I have spoken to him a few times. I was pretending to be you, remember?" The few times was in Duellist Kingdom, and sometimes at school, when Ryou was feeling rather tired, the thief was happy to put his acting skills to good use and to interact with the modern world more actively than he had done in the past.

The Thief had been lucky that he had been able to block Ryou completely out when the Dark God suddenly became _determined_ to go after Mokuba, he hadn't been expecting that and he was a bit disappointed that there was a chance that he would be in a _new_ body, even if it meant that there wouldn't be a third soul. He began to _enjoy_ having Ryou's light soul around, and he was pleased that the outcome wasn't what the Dark God wanted, although he was still angry with Tristan for throwing the Ring away.

It was just as well that he was able to use the Ring's own magic to return to Ryou, although it wore him out, but he was pushed onwards by the Dark God, who was still regaining his own strength after that battle against the Pharaoh, it took a lot out of you when you returned from the Shadow Realm he learned.

"I know that…" Ryou began.

"He does see the good in _almost_ everyone," He admitted that, interrupting him; "But I can't say that he will be safe, the Dark God is growing more powerful, there is no telling if he will be able to push me back as easily as he does with you,"

The fear was so easy to see in Ryou's soft brown eyes that the thief moved to wrap his arm around the teens shoulder's and pull him close to himself. There was no resistance, no hesitation, _nothing_ , Ryou allowed him to pull him into the hug and rested his head against his chest.

"Don't worry Ryou. I will do all that I can to make sure your friend is safe," He whispered, absently rubbing Ryou's back as he did so, as if to give the boy some kind of comfort.

"I know you will," Ryou spoke quietly, enjoying this moment, he rarely was hugged by anyone any more, and although this was a odd situation, he _liked_ it; "I just wish… that this Dark God wasn't here at all. I wish he would _remain_ trapped in the Shadow Realm _forever_ ," He felt the thief begin to chuckle and glanced up at him.

The thief smiled down at him; "I know you do, so do I. But then we have to remember that they _are_ the darkness, they are the main reason that the Shadow Realm exists to begin with," The smile faded and instead his eyes were filled with a rare look that Ryou never saw in him before, _sorrow;_ "I just wish that my own goal had been meet all those years ago,"

Ryou didn't say anything more, what could he say? Instead her hugged the thief back, and in time the young mortal fell sleep, snoring gently while the thief kept absently rubbing his back every once in a while.

"Huh," The thief looked down at him, staying as he was for a little bit longer, to make sure that Ryou was _fully_ asleep, before picking him up and gently placing him on his bed.

After he did that, he left the Soul Room, he had a feeling the Dark God would wish to speak to him about Malik as well.


End file.
